Christmas Aspiration Attempt - Blog Post Nine

The house I am creating is beautiful. 

I long to be able to venture further than my rooms.  But I am trapped within my self made jail.  What was once a motivation to complete my task and allow myself the fruits of my labours, has become a taunting entity at my back.  Laughing and smirking at my inabilities.  Passing comment on the futility of what I am attempting. 

The prize I fear I will never obtain.

Most of my recent days I have been focusing on the canvas in my meagre garden.  I find myself suddenly drawn to it again in a way that has been long missing.  I have produced some of my most meaningful creations and they have sold well to my mysterious collector.

Perhaps this new found lust for life has grown as I myself find that I am older.  My hair has greyed and my body tires easily.  I feel my life gone in the aches of my joints and I find my mind wandering back to the past.  A past that I can barely remember now.  A past blurred by the passing of time and the overwhelming silence of isolation.

Chapter 67 - Hi-Jinks? Well, Someone's Having a Laugh!

Well, this place just Popped up over night!

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I'm sorry... did you say PIGS built a house?  And where, dear father, did these pigs acquire the necessary skills?

I have been spending as much time as I can with Pedro.  It isn't easy with work and what-have-you but I am told that if you pack as much knowledge into their tiny brains at this age it can give them certain advantages when they are older and I, for one, would certainly like that for Pedro.  

I would love for him to be the first Bustamante who gets to the top of their career!  It would be a great honour!

The next strange occurrence around here was the building of a 'city'.  It is a new concept wherein sims cram themselves into small, stackable houses.  Surround themselves with noise and bright lights, while they meet other cramped sims in one of the many coffee shops available and talk about how amazing it is to live in such a diverse and vibrant place but wouldn't it be great to get away from it all, just for a while.  So go and book a holiday in a forest.

They also like to hold a large assortment of events and as it happens the first one was all about laughing!  How could I not want to go and to take the family!?  The flyer plopped through the door, and by that I mean I vaguely became aware that was happening as if a bulletin had been splashed across the viewing screen of my life.

I took everyone, except Katrina, who was working, to the Hijinks Festival.  

But what I found when I got there, was anything but funny...

Think I'm holding Pedro, huh?

So....what about now?

Argh!!!!!

Holy Mother of Mothballs!!  It's another Pedro, but this one is in 'girl'.

That creepy little lookalike toddler was there.  But this time she was not alone.  Her mother had brought her along.  I knew that I had to try and talk to her but I had no idea how to start this conversation off...

"Hi.  (friendly laugh) Isn't it crazy that BOTH our kids look like children of the corn!?"

I decided that I should check out the goings on at the festival first.  The main jist of the thing seemed to be buying merchandise, eating food, partaking of a few mind altering substances and then pulling pranks on everyone in the place in the name of fun.

Alexander and I gave it a go...

Ohhhh!  Geez!  It's like L'eau de Fart!

But that looks like something I could get into...

Dooooooode!

I'll admit that it was a bit of a laugh, even though I had only just aligned myself with a team (I chose jokster) before the contest was over.  Luckily for me the joksters won and so I got a share of the prizes!!  

But I knew that I had to get some answers about this strange little toddler.  So introduced myself to her mum.

'Mum' is younger than me and her name is Jennie McCann.  And apparently she knows all about me.  She said that she had wanted to come forward sooner but hadn't known how to broach the subject.

I invited her back to the house so that we could discuss things further and that she could tell her story.

It seems that after mum had died Jennie and dad had gotten close.  Real close.  Beyond the literal definition of close, if you catch my meaning.  And little Cherish (Lord, I know what Grandma Farrah had meant when she'd said Sims shouldn't be left to name their own kids!) was the result of that 'friendship'.

I was standing in the room with my half-sister!

This is startling news for a man who just had his adult birthday!

Happy Birthday to me!

So.  You and dad.... Nope! Wait!  Don't need that image!

Christmas Aspiration Attempt - Blog Post Eight

Nothing is real.  Everything is just a fantasy.

This life.

My life.

Chapter 66 - I'm Not Saying my Work is Weird...

"The Smell!!  I swear to Watcher it wasn't me!"

---

Act Natural!  Act Natural!

Work continues to be a series of failed experiments and blagging elements and crystals from my workmates.  And as a rule my work colleagues continue to be the elusive and hermit like creatures of habit that they have always been.  I have however, begun to notice that there is something rather unusual about one of my new friends.

I mean, I am not one to judge, no sirree.  But I have to admit that the more time that I spend with her the more I am coming to the conclusion that this is not an elaborate stick-it-to-her-parents makeover.

I don't think you are going to believe me but I think she is an alien.  

Not convinced.

Lets look at the facts:

One:  She is blue and has strange pointy ears.  Now you may say, Kyle that's cosmetic surgery.  But answer me this, how do you get your entire body blue?  Full body tattoo?  Come on!

Two: She comes to work in a spaceship.  Again perhaps you'll argue that she's a scientist, so why not.  Or that she invented some variation on a hot air balloon.  But explain this... to enter the thing she presses her nose three times, tweaks an ear then evaporates!

And three:  She has never once used the bathroom.  And I mean NEVER!  Never.  Not once!  How do I know?  Believe me if you had seen our 'facilities' here you'd know how I know. 

Hey!  So Aliens, right!  LOAD of pigPlum!  Am I right!?

I was finally convinced after I started a conversation with her about the ludicrous notion that there might be life on other planets.  At first she smirked and said how could I be so sure.  

I agreed and said that I couldn't be sure, but added that even if there was, there was no chance they would be anywhere near as advanced as us and probably nothing more than some kind of ooze, or at least sensationally stupid.  She seemed to get quite upset.

I feel that I have seen you before....

At home we have some exciting news.  Seems Pedro (I know, I know, Katrina chose the name!  And I know, he looks like a girl!  Blame Katrina again!) has decided to become a toddler and it is driving us INSANE!!

We attempt to feed him because he is hungry but he won't take the food.  We leave the food for him and he takes it but then won't eat as he has decided to have a tantrum!

Put him in the highchair, Kyle! I hear you cry.  We TRIED!  Four times in a row but all that happens is he stares at us before wandering off!

And don't get me started on people 'helping out'!!  Argh, I learned at school that in the long, long ago how babies were considered a social responsibility of all sims but that it could cause problems when the primary carer couldn't hack their way through the well meaning visitors to care for their child.

Well, it appears to be starting again.  Seems the household is drawn to care for Pedro and it gets. in. the. way!

I still can't shake how much that kid on the street looked like me and now I see Pedro as a child.... the mystery deepens.

Chapter 65 - A House Full

237 channels and never anything on!

 

---

In the stilllllll, of the niiii-iight!

I was all set to try and determine what the dealio with the look-a-likey toddler was when I got a call from Katrina.  She said that I needed to come over IMMEDIATELY!  There was something that she needed to tell me and she should have done it sooner and if  she waited any longer she may chicken out again.

I hadn't seen or spoken to her since or last date.  And what a date THAT was.

Oh yeah, I was cool like a cucumber.

Cool like an ice pole!

A sexy icy pole and everyone wanted a lick!

Yeah! Lick that pol...

Wait. What?  That seemed so much better in my head!

Anyway, it had been about three or so days since I had spoken to her and I was monumentally too dense to realise what THAT meant.

Even when she took me inside as there was 'someone who wanted to meet me' it didn't even sink in.  I picked the tiny screaming bundle out of the cot.

It smelled.

It smelled bad.

Katrina had left the room.

I wished I could.

I tried to just ignore the smell.

Nope.  There was only one thing for it... Oh, Brother!

It was while I was elbow deep in bottom related paraphernalia that I suddenly realised who this little bundle was.  I am not afraid to say it stopped me in my tracks.  I've never felt this way before, not sure I ever will.  The sudden realisation that there is another, tiny little, you in the world.  And that he is entirely helpless and dependant on others for help.

Dependant on you..

Dependant on daddy.

Errmmm, hello tiny sim.

I think I am your daddy

I am glad we have met

You'll never have to cry again.  Daddy's here.

I put our little bundle back in his crib and he fell asleep.  Although I could have watched him sleep for ever (why is that not creepy with babies?) I knew there was something that I had to do.

Looking around at Katrina's house, it was sparse.  There was barely wallpaper on the walls.  I suddenly realised how much Katrina had been struggling after the death of her parents.  Looking after a house and her kid brother.

And now a baby.

Not anymore.

I went to her and immediately asked her to move in with me.  No strings attached but that this baby was mine and I had a duty to care for it and if providing a warm, safe home was something I could do then I had to do it.

At first she was reluctant.  This was her family home and what about her brother, Alexander.  She could very well leave him behind.

I told her that he was more than welcome to come too.  They were all invited.  He could have my room at the top of the house, his own little domain.  And the downstairs bedroom would be for the baby.  She could decorate it any way she wished.  Money no object.

She agreed and the moved in that very night.

I like to think her agreeing to move in was out of undying love for me but I fear it may have been the interior design privileges.

---

Jordon's room......

..isn't anymore!

Christmas Aspiration Attempt - Blog Post Seven

Life has become a circle.  Days roll into nights and back into days again.  

I have begun to improve my skills in the world of online gaming.  Some of the prizes are substantial and could seriously change my fortunes in my quest.  But my opponents too have the same idea and choose not to make my victories easy.  More often than not entire nights are spent in an ultimately fruitless activity.  I know I should set my sights on something more lucrative, which would be my painting but I just cannot bring myself to lift a paintbrush.  Not again.  Not yet.

I am constantly haunted with the idea that my time is finite and that I should concentrate only on the best path.  But what is that.  Just the day to day needs take up so much time; eating, sleeping, bathing.

I fill my room with paintings to inspire me to work, to focus my mind towards my goal but sometimes their very presence acts more as a reminder of what I am lacking.  How far away I am from my goal.  How I stand little chance of success.

I won't deny it.  I am feeling sorry for myself.  I am trapped in my own personal hell.  A hell I created.  A hell that I inflicted on myself when I thought that this was the life that I wanted.  And now I am trapped.  I know I could give up.  Just climb that fence and walk away but that would be giving up.  I would be forced to face the world and admit that I was just not strong enough.  I would have to face myself knowing.

These thoughts often invade my sleep.  Vivid but unintelligible swirls in my mind. 

What should I do?

Life is just a circle.

Chapter 64 - What The? Errmmm...

Arghhh!! Giant Fish!!

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This is just going to blow you away.

It really is.

I ran into one of those toddlers that have become so popular recently.

She was just standing there.

Out on the pavement.

Like a wheelie bin.

And I know what you're thinking!  Creepy!  And don't get me wrong, it really was.  They freak me out with their oddly over sized heads, but the real creepiness was this...

She looked just like me!!

Argh!!!

Nice place you got here.  Mind if I ask were you aquired your freaky toddler-a-likey?

She seemed to belong to one of the flats in the new block they built down the road from our house.  Peach Blossom Something.  But, as far as I know, we don't know anyone who lives in this block.  It's so new, I didn't even realise anyone lived in it yet!

I went up to the door to try and get some answers, but oddly enough, no one was home.  

I was unaware that thes toddlers should be left on their own.  I have heard they are liable to malfunction if left unattended.

Say what now?

I decided to call dad to ask if he knew of anyone that lived in Peach Blossom.  It was a very strange conversation indeed.  Dad's is not always the most coherent but this was something out of the twilight zone.

Eventually, he muttered something about someone being at the door and that he would ring back and explain.

I hung around and waited for the call.

Time to get me some abs!

I waited and waited but he never did call.

I decided to head home and then I found out why he hadn't called.

Apparently the knock on the door was death and dad had invited him in.

I did my best to plead for his life.  I told death that dad had something important to tell me and all I needed was just a little more time.

But 'twas all for nought.

You've done it twice before, what's one more!!

You really are a jerk.

I guess I'm going to have to find out what's going on all by myself.

Why didn't I see this kid sooner?

Why didn't I ask dad more about his life when he was here?

Why didn't I kick Death in the doodads and steal his iPad!?

---

Yeah!! You SHOULD cry!!

Chapter 63 - This Thing Called Science

Dad died for the first time

Death watched a bit of TV

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I'm not going to deny it.  The place was intimidating.  It was huge.  Huge and suspiciously located a long way out of town.  I had been given some amazing new clothes to wear though and already I felt like a scientist and I hadn't even rattled any atoms yet!

My, how do they clean those windows?

I was met in the entrance hall by a derpy woman who smiled in a fake way before talking into the telephone.  I say talking into rather than answering because, since the removal of all land based lines there was no way there was anyone on the end of her desk phone. 

I wasn't sure if I applauded her choice in artwork or was disturbed by it. But I decided that anyone who actively chose to have a picture of a rocket ship blasting from a gorilla version of the Statue of Liberty on their wall was someone who defiantly thought outside of the box.

And she appeared to be well outside of her box.

I left her happily babbling into the phone and made my way through into the heart of the laboratory.

Hello?  Candyland?  I'd like to order a pizza from the moon.

Inside I was met with another level of brilliance.

I think.

I'm new around here.  Could you tell me what I should be doing? Errmmm? Hello? Are you ok?

Soon, soon I will have enough custard to start phase two of my plan..

He seemed to be well clear of most boxes as well and I began to question exactly the kind of person that worked here.  I couldn't get many clear answers out of him either.  When I finally got him even aware of my presence, he looked at me like I was something he was dreaming about.  He stared silently, before jumping up, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and stuffing a crystal into my pocket.  His eyes darted from side to side, placed a finger on his lips and scurried away.

I fear I may have been committed without realising it.

Some rooms, however, left me baffled!?

I took it upon myself to work out what was going on.  Most of the rooms seemed to have a specific function.  They contained analysers, chemistry equipment or were designed for recreation and food.

Outside there was a rocket waiting to be constructed.  It looked a lot like the one we had at home and I was surprised that a commercially available rocket ship would be the apparent top-of-the-range.  I would have expected this place to have something far more impressive!

I decided that I would get on with that at a later date.  With all my experience at home it should be a doddle.

Oh Plumbob!

I attempted to use some of the equipment.  I think I am going to need a lot more practice before I get anything meaningful.  I discovered a few elements but I think that was more an accident than any kind of intelligent application on my part.

Trouble is, in order to be taken seriously here, I have to have breakthroughs.  Doesn't matter what as long as they are new and different.  They don't even need to be FOR anything as long as they LOOK like they might be.

I did find what I think is possibly the most fun thing I have ever found though.  It's like a 3D printer on steroids.  There's a manual interface and then this kind of robot head that spins around and does the actual work but you can communicate your ideas directly with it!

This is going to be THE most awesome basket for the Easter Egg Hunt!!

I absolutely love the thing.  Although I am a little concern at the fire power it appears to possess.  But as long as it doesn't go all H.A.L on us I think we should be fine.

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

I even made my first breakthrough on it!  (Ok, Ok.  I had the actual breakthrough beforehand, but I was on the toilet at the time.  Give a dude a break!)

I spent most of the morning pottering around with it and with a great deal of help from H.A.L I finally turned my idea into reality.

Behold!

Isn't it gloriously unnecessary?!

Perfect balance of pointlessness and inferred usefulness.

Ahhh..... I truly am one of the people now.

Brown House

After I grabbed a snack from a vending machine in the far corner of the facility, only to find out that the only microwave was at the opposite end, I decided to check out the greenhouse. 

I have no idea what they plan to do in this place but I have to admit that once again I was sensationally underwhelmed by the place.  Obviously there are no government grants for creepy, backwater science places with mentally abstract employees.

Green House

I decided that something had to be done.  So I spent the afternoon adding a few bits and bobs to make the place more... well...green...

It looked much better, even if I do say so myself and I have left some space for if, and when, we need it to grow some sciency tomatoes or radioactive plums or whatever!

I think I am going to enjoy it here.  It certainly is quiet and my work colleagues seem to be happy to just live and let live without the need for 'socialising' and 'enforced fun'.  

At least at the moment.

This...does not look good!

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Dad died for the second time when I got home.